Ladder.



H. L. mln/WER.

-LDDER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.13. 59H. LKQ, Patented Oct, 19, 19M;

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Il [R5/C,

H. L. TRHVYER.

LADDER.

APPLlCATIUN FLED SEPT. I3. 191|.

Patented Oct. 19, 1.915.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

la! l HERVY LIN'WOOD TRIMYEB., 0F PORTSMOUTH, VKRGINI.

LLDDER.

Spccication of Letters Patent.

Patented @et 19, 19115.

.application led September 13, 1911. erial No. 649,064.

To all wlwm t may concern l Be it known that I, HERVY L. Truman, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Portsmouth, in the county of Nor# :tolk and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful improvements 1n Ladders, of which the following is a specilcation.

My present invention relatesxin general to ladders, and .more particularly to ladders used for scaling` railway cars and has special'ret'erence to the construction of a com- .bined' scalino; ladder, sill step, and roof grab-1ron.

The principal objects of my present invention are the provision of an improved form of ladder construction wherein the sill step is carried by the ladder, and one wherein the roof grab-iron may also be carried by the ladder or by the means for attaching the ladder to the car; the provision ot' mproved means for attaching the ladder to the car whereby the ladder may be held in position in a much more simple and economical manner than is at present known to me, and whereby the ladder may be so attached in the manner required under approved modern practice without malnng it necessary to disturb the lining1 or any other part of the inside of the car; the provision of an improved form of construction wherein, in the event oit accident, the parts most liable to injury may readily be renewed without disturbance of the remaining parts at the time of such replacement; the provision of a greatly simplified and :improved form of car ladder construction wherein not only are the number or" parts required in its 'manufacture greatly reduced, thus cheap- @ning the cost of manufacture, but also the number of parts required for attaching it in position greatly reduced, thus lessening the danger of personal injury to the user, together with such further objects as may be below disclosed.

In the ladder constructions commonly employed at this day, wooden cars generally have a sill step bolted to the side with l'our bolts, or in the case ofa steel car two rivets or bolts. If one of the bolts or rivets breaks, or a head or nut is lost, the user is almost invariably injured. Again, in the ordinary construction, six ladder treads, held in place by twelve bolts or clamp screws are commonly used, and the failure of one of them -l and 2; Fig. 4: 1s a view tional yiew taken on Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary 110 or the loss of a nut or screw, likewise almost invariably results in injury to the user. Furthermore the roof grab-iron is generally one of the most insecure and one of the most fruitful sources of injury, of all railway car attachments, since it is customarily bolted or screwed through the root1 at a point where it is difficult to obtain and maintain screw astenings, and owing to the inaccessibility oli-Relocation, in practice, ordinarily does not secure the required inspection received by vother parts of the car.

Modern approved practice requires a larger number of ladder treads than have heretofore been used, thus largely increasing the number of points to be fastened, and since such approved practice further requires the use of bolts or rivets in all ladder, iron, and step construction, much diili# culty is found in properly placing the attachmg' members 1n the ends of the'ladder treads next to the corner of the car, owino' i to the interference of the corner bands and corner posts and other members. commonly employed in modern car construction, owing to the 'obstructions presented thereby, as well as for other reasons, further difficulty is eX- perienced in securing from car-builders and repairers proper relative location of the scaling ladder, sill step and roof grab-ironn well as certain further benefits and advantages to be below pointed out, and in. over-l coming the disadvantages and objections re- 'i'erred to, l have provided a construction, of which one'embodiment wherein the roof' grab-irons yand sill steps are permanently located by attachment to the scaling ladder proper, is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein-` Figure l /n'elevational view illustraH tive of an application of my improved form of construction to the side of a box car, n earthe end thereof; Fig. 2 is an elevational view of a portion of the end of the car of Fig. 1, taken at right angles to the position figure; Fig. 3 is a plan view the roof of the car oi. Figs. showing a moditied form of the s ill step construction; Fig. 5 is a view of a detail of construction ;,Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary View of a modilied detail ot' construction; Fig. 7 is a secthe line VII-VH of shown in such of a portion of gaining the objects above stated, as

View, partly in section illustrative of a detail of construction; and Fig. 9 is a view of a modified detail.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, it will be observed that in carrying out my invention I employ, for the construction of the side ladder, a member 10, preferably a flz.u continuous steel strap as illustrated in F ig. 1, bent at 11 and 12 to provide a step 13 and parallel stiles 14 and 15, Such Stiles 111 and 15 being apertured at 16-16, 17-'17, to receive the tread members 18-18- In order that each of the treads may act as spacing members, and also in order to facilitate their implacement, they are preferably provided at each end With a shoulder as indicated at 19 (See Fig. 8) so that when the rivet heads 20 are formed, any relative movement between the treads 18 and the Stiles lei and 15 will he prevented. At the upper end of the ladder, thus formed, l attach to the ends 20. 21 of the Stiles conveniently by means of bolts indicated at 22, 23, a .roof grab iron 24, which is preferably the forging illustrated in Fig. 3, described more particularly below.

For the purpose of holding the upper part of the ladder firmly in contact with the roof of the car, to the end that it may be supported therefrom, the Stiles 11 and 15.a re preferably given a quarter turn as indicated at 26, 27, before bendingr at 26' 27', S0 that the flat side of the strap may contact with such roof and the support of the structure thereby aided.

`For Spacing the ladder away `from the side of the car in order to facilitate its use, and for permanently holding it in fixed position, l employ suitable attaching means, here shown as angle irons 28-28 and 29-29, such angle irons being preferably riveted to the Stiles 14 and 15 and bolted through the car siding.

1n order most Securely to brace the ladder against thrusts, the angles 28 to 29 are preferably located exteriorally of the Stiles 14 and l5, but Where the construction of the ear so demands, the angles 29 may be lo cated between the Stiles 14 and 15 as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1, Without sacrifice of the desirable spacingbetween the ladder and the end of the car. To the end that the step 13 may be saved, as far as may be, from injury by striking obstructions adjacent the track, and on the other hand to prevent accidents ensuant upon a projecting step striking careless bystanders, the stiles 14 and 15 are preferably oftsetras indicated at 30, 31 in order to bring the step 13 adjaH 'cent or Within the vertical line ofthe car body indicated at 32.

On viewing more particularly Fig. 2, wherein I have illustrated my improvements applied to an end ladder, it will be. apparent that the members 10', 14', 15', 18',

28 29 are in all substantial respects the same as the corresponding members in Fig. l, save that no step is here ordinarily used and that the vertical stile 14 is not necessarily, though it may conveniently be, continued over the roof of the car, and that the vertical stile 15 as well as receivingthe quarter turn indicated at 27 and bend 27 is materially bent laterally, as indicated at, 33 in order to increase the available length of the grab iron 24', such grab iron being preferably a continuation o f the grab iron 2l, attached to the said lateral extension 33 by a bolt 3l.

Referring now more particularly t0 Fig. l, it will be seen that in the form of construction here illustrated, thel stiles .l-ll and 15, at their lower ends, (instead of being formed of a continuous strap, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2), in order to provide the sill step, has a step 13 made of a separate strap, preferably bolted to such stiles as indicated at 34, 35, the advantage of such construction being that in the event that distortion or breakage of the step 13 through accident require repair or removal thereof, there he no necessity of dismounting the entire ladder, but that the step alone may be removed for repair, or a new one iinplaced. by a mere removal of the bolts 3l. 35, and without disturbance of the remainder of the apparatus.

lf it be desired to gain :ulditional spacingbetween the lowest of the rungs 1S and the car-body` a separate rung- 1S may be inserted between thx` separated stile members 1i and 15 as shown' iu Fig. il. Considering now mort` particularly the grab iron construction 2l-2i. it will be noted that for spacing it away from the roof so that it may be readily grasped and for attaching it in position,this member may be conveniently made of a rod given a substantially right angled bend 36, and having its ends provided with downwardly and laterally disposed portions 3S. 39. terminatingin eyes l0, l1. a third extension 3T terminating in an eye 42 being welded thereto. (Fig. 5), or. if desired, in order to avoid the expense of forging or welding the intermediate Inen'iber 37 inl position, a separate member 37 having at one end the eye 42 and at the opposite end an eye 43 engaging the member 2fl may be employed.

From the foregoing description and examination of Figs. l and 2 of the fflrawings, it will be observed that the combined scaling ladder, Sill Step and grab iron is supported directly by the roof, and the weight thereof and of the user is borne primarily by the roof and thence distributed through its supports, and that the fastening devices and siding, instead of carrying directly the entire weight of tbe ladder or any material portion thereof` or of the user, serve primarily to hold Jhe' ladder and parts carried thereby ixedly in position,'and merely sec ondarily to support the same; that hence, in

. the event of breakage or loss 'of one or more 'of the attaching members such as are indicated at 28, 29, an accident does not necessarily follow; and that one of such attaching devices remaining intact and holding the ladder in position, Will still serve to sustain the ladder and any user thereof. Furthermore that in the event of injury to any part of the ladder, such part, by employing of the disposition ofthe step 13 injury either to users or bystanders is rendered much lessl likely. Other advantages of the y construction are that the disposition of the members QSI-29 on the stiles may be varied vertically as Well as laterally in order to avoid any obstruction to the fastening thereof in position, and that by virtue of the vertical stile construction as distinguished from -the customary isolated tread construetion, sliding off of the users feet With consequent likelihood o'f his falling, especially when stepping around the corner of the car above the sill step, is largely prevented.

Having thus described my inventionand illustrated its use, what l claim as nen.7 and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination With-a car, of an end ladder and a side ladder, the stiles of said side ladder being bent over the rootl of Jthe car, a member connected to the end. oi. one stile extending beyond the end. of the other stile, and one offthe stiles of said end lad-4 der being bent over the roof of the carand being secured to said member, said member serving as a roof grab for the end ladder.

2. The combination With a car, of an end ladder and a side ladder, one of the stiles of said side ladder being bent over the root 'of f the car,.a member connected to said stile extending beyond""the end of the other of said stiles, and one ofthe stiles of said end ladder being bent over the roof of the car and beingfsecured to said member.

3. The, combination With-acar, of an end ladder and a side ladder, one of the stiles of said side ladder being bent over the rootl of the car, a member connected to said stile eX- tending beyond the end of the other of said stiles, and one of the stiles of said end ladder being bent over the roof of the car and being'secured to said extension, said member serving as a roof grab for the end ladder.

4. rilhe combination with a car, of an end ladder 'and a side ladder, the stiles of said side ladder being bent over the rooi:l of the car, a member connected to one of said stiles extending beyond the end of the other of lill said stiles, and one of the stiles of said end ladder being bent over' the roof of the car and being secured to said member, said member serving as a roof grab for the end ladder.`

5. rllhe combination With .a car, of an end ladder and a side ladder, one oit' the stiles of said side ladder being bent over the roof' of the car, a member connected to the end of said stileextending beyond theend of the other of said stiles, and one of the stiles of said end ladder being bent over the roof of I,

the car and being secured to said extension, said member serving as a roof grab for the end ladder, and a rung fixed to the bent over portion of the side ladder and serving as a roof grab for'the side ladder.

6. The combination with a car, of an end ladder'and a side ladder, one of the stiles of said side ladder being bent over the roof of the car, a member connected to said 'stile extending beyond the end of the other of said-stiles, and one of thestiles of said end ladder being bent over the roof of the car and being secured to said member, said member serving as a roof grab for the end ladder, and a rung formed integrally With said member disposed adjacent the bentjover por tion of the side ladder and serving as a roof grab for the side ladder.

7. The combination with a car, of an end ladder and a side ladder, one of the stiles of said side ladder being bent over the roof of the car, a member connected to said stile extending beyond the end of the other of said stiles, and one of the stiles of said end ladder being bent over the roof of the car land being 'secured to said member, said member serving as a roof grab for the end ladder, a rung fixed to the bent over portion of the side ladder and serving as a roof grab for the side ladder, said ladders being respectively secured at their bottoms to the side and end of the car, and means carried by the car body -for spacing said ladders from the car body, said spacing means constituting an auxiliary fastening means.

8. rlhe combination with a car, of an end ladder and a side ladder, one of the stiles oit' said side ladder being bent over the roof of the car, a member connected to the end of one stile extending beyond the end of the other of said stiles, and one of the stiles of said end ladder being bentover the roof of the car and being secured tosaid member, said member sewing` as a roof grab for the end ladder, a rung xed to the bent over iat' of the car a member connected to said stile extending beyond the end of the other of said stiles, and one of the stiles of said end ladder being bent over the roof of the earA and being seeuredto said member, said` the car body, said spacing means constituting an auxiliary fastening means.

12. ln combination with a car body having a root', a plurality of car ladders located member serving as a roof grab for theyend \adjacent the corner of the car., one at the ladder, a rung formed integrally with saidy member disposed adjacent the bent over portions 0f the side ladder and serving as a roof grab for the side ladder, said ladders being respectively secured at their bottoms to the side and end of the ear.

10. The combination with a car, of an end ladder and a side ladder, the stiles of said ladder being bent over the roof of the car, a member connected to one of said stiles and extending beyond the end of the other of said Stiles, and one of the Stiles of said end ladder being bent over the root of 'the ear and being secured to said member; said member serving as a roof grab for the end ladder, and a rung disposed between the -bent over portions of the side ladder and serving' asr` a roof grab for the side ladder.

l1. The combination with a car, of an end ladder and a side ladder, the stiles of said side ladder being bent over the roof of the car, a member connected to one of said st-iles extending beyond the end of the other of said Stiles, and one of the Stiles of said end ladder being` bent over the root ot the car and being secured to said member, said member serving asa :ooi:` grab for the end ladder, a rung disposed between the bent over portions of the side ladder and serving as a roof grab for the side ladder, each of said ladders being secured at their bottoms to the sill or the car, and means carried by the ear body for spacing said ladders from "side and one at the end of the ear, and a common roof grab iron for said ladders carried by said ladders.

13. ln combination with a ear body having a root, a. plurality ot car ladders located adjacent the corner ofthe car, one at the side and one at the end of the ear, and a common grab-iron tor said ladders carried by said ladders, one ot' said ladders being connected by their stiles to the roof of the car.

14. In combination with a ear body hav ing a. root? a plurality of car ladders located adjacent the corner of the car, one at the side and one at the end oi the car, and a common grab-iron ixine said ladders together, said grab iron being connected directly to said ladders.

l5. 1n combination with a car body having a root', a plurality ot car ladders located adjacent the corner ot the car, one at the side and one at the end of the car, the said ladders having` a common structural element connected thereto, whereby they are united and a portion ot their Weight is carried by the roof of the car.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of the two subscribed witnesses.

'HERVY LNWOOD TRIMYER.

"Witnesses:

HARRY Vissnnixa, RAYMOND C. DUDLnY. 

